A little history is useful here: Bill Clinton didn’t just cozy up to one

segregationist, but two — William Fulbright and Orval Faubus. When Bill

Clinton interned for his mentor, Fulbright, in 1966-67, he was old enough to

know that Fulbright was a leading and outspoken opponent of civil rights.

And when Bill Clinton placed the Medal of Freedom around Fulbright’s neck,

Fulbright was above ground and reasonably animated.

And to be honest, Clinton’s adulation of Fulbright far outweighs anything

Trent Lott has said about Strom Thurmond, despite your best efforts to prove

otherwise. I know this “selective moral outrage” argument is annoying, but

so be it.

Moreover, I think Kate’s point about Lott’s 1980 statement is quite sound

(see below). It’s certainly consistent with Lott’s defense thus far, in

which he says he wasn’t referring to Thurmond’s segregationist views.

There are Republicans who opposed Lott maintaining a leadership position

after the defection of Jim Jeffords. You were among them. In fact, I’ve

opposed Lott for much longer, having nothing to do with moral outrage but,

instead, his lack of leadership — beginning with Clinton impeachment

“trial.”